decision day for suspected isis teen

A magistrate is expected to rule today whether the teen detained on suspicion that he was trying to join Islamic militants in the Middle East should be released from police custody.

At the same time The Gleaner understands that the magistrate has issued a gag order barring attorneys and the police from discussing the case with the media.

However, it is understood that the magistrate reserved her decision after an attorney for the St Mary teen filed a habeas corpus application in the Family Court yesterday.

The 16-year-old has been in custody since Saturday when he was deported from Suriname.

Authorities in Suriname reported that he was denied entry into that country after it was theorised that he was heading to The Netherlands, then to Turkey, to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Family has denies claims

However, his family has denied claims that the teen was trying to join Islamic militants.

According to the boy's grand-uncle, the 16-year-old was attempting to run off to England in search of a better life. Noting that the teen did not have a visa to enter the United Kingdom, he said the teen had planned to meet up with his mother, whom he had not seen in more than six years, and grandmother, in the Netherlands, before travelling to England.